Neuroscience

Jumonji domain-containing protein 3 (JMJD3), identified as H3K27me3 demethylase, controls the expression of key regulators and markers of neurogenesis, and is required for commitment to the neural lineage. Nevertheless, the precise molecular targets of JMJD3 remain largely uncharacterized. The regulation of JMJD3 appears to be highly gene- and context- specific, suggesting interplay with specific molecules to promote fine-tuning more than the on/off alternation of methylation status.

Glucose is the principal fuel source for the brain and GLUT1 is the only vehicle by which glucose enters the brain. In case of GLUT1 deficiency, the risk of clinical manifestations is increased in infancy and childhood, when the brain glucose demand is maximal.

Beclin 1 is the mammalian orthologue of the yeast Apg6/Vps30 gene. Beclin 1 can complement the defect in autophagy present in apg6 yeast strains and stimulate autophagy when overexpressed in mammalian cells (1) and can bind to Bcl2, an important regulator of apoptosis (2) suggesting a role in two fundamentally important cellular pathways: autophagy and apoptosis.

Vimentin is a fundamental 10 nm type III intermediate filament (IF) protein found in many mesenchymal and epithelia tissues, tissue culture cells, and developing neuronal and astrocytic precursor cells of the central nervous system.

Neutrophins and their receptors play an important role in regulating the development of both the central and peripheral nervous systems. Neurotrophin ligand binding to each of their respective Trk cellular receptors is essential for the growth and survival of neurons.

Synaptophysin is an integral membrane glycoprotein found within the small synaptic vesicles in brain and endocrine cells. Studies with synaptophysin antibodies show that it is one of the most abundant small vesicle proteins, constituting approximately 7% of the total vesicle.

Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) is one of the major intermediate filament axonal proteins found in mature astrocytes, the star-shaped glial cells that comprise the majority of cells within the central nervous system (1).

The thymidine analogue bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) has a long, colorful history of heavy use in molecular and cytokinetic studies (1, 2). BrDU is incorporated into newly synthesized DNA only in S-phase cells, and then immunocytochemically detected with BrDU antibodies. This method allows for extremely accurate and comprehensive comparative studies of a variety of cells ranging from normal to neoplastic.

 Synaptophysin (a presynaptic vesicle protein) is an integral membrane glycoprotein originally isolated from presynaptic vesicles of bovine neurons. Synaptophysin is found in all nerve terminals and synaptophysin measurements have been used to quantify the number of terminals present during neuroanatomical remodeling and neural development (1).

Phosphoserine is an ester of serine and phosphoric acid which results from posttranslational modifications. Phosphorylation is a key post-translational modification necessary for normal cellular signaling.